Gonzaga dominates Southern Utah in 72 point victory on Monday night

Gonzaga's 122 points nearly set a scoring record at the McCarthey Athletic Center

Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Mario Saint-Supery (17). | Photo by Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs could have easily fallen victim to a trap game on Monday night against Southern Utah.

The game took place two days after the team's first true road trip of the season, a gritty win against Arizona State, and with a full week off before the next game, it wouldn't have been surprising to see Gonzaga get off to a sluggish start against the Thunderbirds.

However, that was not at all what went down at the Kennel on Monday night, with Gonzaga zipping out to a 17-2 lead and never relenting, going into halftime up 59-27 and coasting to an extremely dominant 122-50 win to move to 5-0 on the season. The 72-point margin of victory is the biggest in Southern Utah basketball history, and Gonzaga was two points away from breaking the single-game scoring record at the McCarthey Athletic Center, set two seasons ago against NAIA opponent Eastern Washington.

The Zags were led by 22 points from Braden Huff and 19 points from freshman Davis Fogle, who did so in just 14 minutes played. However, it ultimately ended up being a very balanced attack from coach Few's team, with five players in double figures and 13 total players in the scoring column, including walk-ons Joaquim ArauzMoore and Cade Orness.

Gonzaga now has a week to prepare for next Monday's matchup against No. 11 Alabama in Las Vegas as part of the Player's Era Festival, which will be followed by a game against Maryland 24 hours later and a third game, with the date, time, and opponent still to be determined.

Here is a look at three takeaways from Gonzaga's dominant win over Southern Utah on Monday:

1. Gonzaga's ball pressure is relentless

Gonzaga's length, physicality, and depth on the perimeter allow them to put intense pressure on opposing guards for a full 40 minutes, and that was on display Monday night. Gonzaga forced 23 turnovers, including 18 steals, which led to a massive 27-6 advantage in points off turnovers and contributed to their 33-7 advantage in fast break points as well.

Gonzaga did hockey-style substitutions regularly in this game, often subbing out 3-4 players at a time, and the ability to do so allows players to play as hard as they can for 4-5 minute stretches before someone else - like Jalen Warley or Emmanuel Innocenti - comes off the bench and brings the same energy. It's a vicious cycle for opposing teams, and will serve the Zags quite well all season long.

2. Mario Saint-Supery is the real deal

Saint-Supery drew the start for Gonzaga, the first of his career, and he made the most of it. The Spanish guard was highly effective on both ends of the floor, ultimately finishing with 16 points and seven assists, along with six steals.

He shot an outstanding 5-7 from the field and 3-3 from three, and while he still has some kinks to work out - often getting too cute with his passes or overly aggressive on defense - his upside is ridiculously high, and it doesn't look that far away either.

3. Braden Huff is a scoring machine

Huff was virtually unstoppable on Monday night in Spokane, dropping a season-high 22 points on a blistering hot 11-13 shooting, while tacking on six rebounds in 22 minutes.

Huff scored on putbacks; he scored going over his right shoulder with his left hand, and when SUU did everything they could to take that away from him, he went ahead and scored over his left shoulder with his right hand. That didn't used to be in his bag, but now that it is, there isn't an easy way to slow the big man down other than double-teams, which in itself is a risk due to his growth as a passer.

Huff has been a highly efficient scorer regardless of opponent, but he took it to another level on Monday night and that momentum should serve the Zags well next week against Alabama and Maryland.